Steve Bruce: 'Aston Villa need to be in promotion hunt'

Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has called on his players to continue to build momentum ahead of a promotion challenge in the Championship.

On Wednesday night, Villa ran out 2-0 winners at Preston North End, taking their recent record to seven victories and four draws from 12 second-tier fixtures.

The West Midlands outfit sit in fifth place in the standings and while trying to play down their impressive form, Bruce acknowledges that Villa need to be featuring in the mix at the top of the table.

The 56-year-old told Sky Sports News: "We can't get carried away with it. We're Aston Villa and we've got to be there or thereabouts.

"It's taken a long time to get there and just at the moment we are doing ok. That's all it is. We are going into the winter period and we've had a decent start and that gives us a decent platform."

Villa are next in action when they host Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon.